I am very excited about offering this new option to patients. Frequently Dr. Beth and I are the first doctors to diagnose color deficiency in young patients. We know that patients and parents alike have concerns about how they see colors and, if there is a deficiency, how it will affect their lives. These glasses can prove extremely helpful for individuals suffering from the most common forms of Red-Green color deficiency. When you think about just how important color perception is in our everyday lives, you can see what an enormous difference corrective lenses for color deficiency can make for people who need them.

Simulation

I have been following Enchroma for several years and I was excited when the company reached out to us. I should note that Enchroma glasses should not be thought of as “color blind glasses.” Color deficiency does not usually involve a complete inability to see colors. Achromatopsia, which presents the world as a black-and-white image, is very rare. The majority of people with color deficiency have trouble either distinguishing between red and green shades or distinguishing between blue and yellow, with the Red-Green deficiency proving most common among the general population. Color Vision Deficiency affects millions of people across the world, affecting 1 in 12 men (8%) and 1 in 200 women (0.5%). A majority of people with the genetic disorder typically inherit the condition from their mother (X-linked trait).

Enchroma glasses are designed to help improve a person’s ability to distinguish colors while wearing the glasses. The lenses employ a specialized filter technology, the patent to which is currently pending. The filters in the lenses help to boost the differences between red and green as perceived by the eye, allowing for more normal color perception. In talking with other doctors who have used Enchroma glasses with their patients, I have heard many positive stories about patients amazed by experience when trying Enchroma glasses for the first time, watching patients smile and feel awestruck by the colors they discover with the glasses.

We will soon be able to have Enchroma lenses made to suit any corrective vision prescription in most frame options, with no extra delay in the fabrication process. We will let you know when we are ready to accept appointments for Enchroma Lenses. Not every person with color vision deficiency will have the kind of improvement in the video below, so a consultation is a good idea. You can read more and take the online test at: http://enchroma.com/.

Unfortunately, VSP does not currently cover EnChroma glasses. However, I do encourage you to come by to test them out and talk to the staff about other options such as putting enChromas lenses in your existing frames or trying non-prescription options.